Latest environment news
An historic deal to tackle climate change
Tom Arup, Peter Hannam in Paris Almost 200 countries have struck a grand bargain to take collective action on climate change, as the Paris summit delivers the first global agreement to cut greenhouse gas pollution in almost two decades.
Analysis: Paris delivers. Can Turnbull?
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addresses the Paris climate conference nearly two weeks ago.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/c/6/2/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glm6op.11u395.png/1449963126037.jpg)
Tom Arup With the Paris summit wrapping up having delivered an historic global climate agreement, questions will inevitably turn to whether Malcolm Turnbull will use the international momentum to advance the climate debate back home
Analysis
Comment: Well done on the Paris deal, but the real test still to come
![The Arc de Triomphe roundabout painted yellow by climate change activists during the Paris conference.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/2/k/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glm6oa.11u395.png/1450018051808.jpg)
Peter Hannam Is the Paris climate summit, as the French phrase goes, "the mountain that gives birth to the mouse"?
A quick guide to the Paris climate deal
![United Nations climate change chief Christiana Figueres, left, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French Foreign Affairs Minister and UN Climate Change Conference in Paris president Laurent Fabius and French President Franois Hollande celebrate an agreement on climate change.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/8/h/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glm889.11u395.png/1450037740156.jpg)
Tom Arup What you need to know about the Paris climate deal.
Is it really possible to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees?
![A representative of a NGO displays a banner supporting a target to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees in front of a reproduction of the Eiffel tower at the Paris climate summit.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/h/8/1/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljtzu.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Tom Arup Why is there sudden momentum for this more ambitious target? And what is the real world difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees?
Small states struggle to keep up with negotiating giants at climate talks
![Emmanuel Nuesiri, part of the Cameroon team at the climate talks.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/t/c/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glktbt.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Peter Hannam Small nations are stretched to make sure their voices are not drowned out by big countries when negotiating climate change deals.
Paris climate negotiations turn to Zulu-style meetings in a bid to break deadlocks
!['Flexibility for us to do more': Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her Marshall Islands counterpart Tony de Brum at the Paris climate talks.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/w/f/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkwg9.11u395.png/1449992930792.jpg)
Tom Arup Climate negotiators have turned to the idea of "indaba" – a traditional Zulu meeting style – as they seek for breakthroughs on deadlocks plaguing the Paris climate talks.
After six years of opposition, Australian government suddenly backs carbon markets
![Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has signed Australia up to a declaration supporting international carbon markets.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/d/9/g/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljue4.11u395.png/1450036908801.jpg)
Tom Arup After a brutal six-year war on carbon pricing, is the Coalition softening its position?
Australia has 'serious concerns' about climate draft in Paris
![Suncorp was happy with the government's stance in Paris.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/v/v/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljuha.11u395.png/1450087037729.jpg)
Peter Hannam and Tom Arup Australia told the conference it is "deeply disappointed" that some areas have been weakened in a bid to get deal.
Australia named 'fossil of the day' at Paris summit for coal speech
![A poster demanding that warming be limited to 1.5 degrees, held up during a protest by activists at the Paris climate talks.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/v/v/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glk65w.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Activists in Paris have awarded Australia the "fossil of the day" award – a dubious honour given to a country that has done the most in the past 24 hours to stop a meaningful response to climate change.
'Loss and damage' controversy smoulders at Paris climate talks
![A poster demanding that warming be limited to 1.5 degrees, held up during a protest by activists at the Paris climate talks.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/v/v/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glk423.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Megan Rowling Having a mechanism to address the losses and damage caused by climate change included in the draft of a U.N. deal to tackle global warming is a victory for vulnerable island states, and they will fight to keep it in, said Tuvalu's prime minister.
Abbott toppled because of climate scepticism, Monckton says
![Lord Christopher Monckton believes Tony Abbott's stance on climate change led to his political downfall.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/h/z/u/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glhtco.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Peter Hannam Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott would have pushed back against a world government at the Paris climate summit and was brought down because of his anti-warming views, according to leading sceptic Christopher Monckton.
Australia in the cellar with Saudi Arabia in climate rankings
![People rally for climate action in Brisbane last month. Australia has ranked poorly on its climate performance among major emitters, according to a new score card.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/a/i/7/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glhtxf.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Tom Arup A new report card on major emitters ranks Australia ahead of only oil-rich Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
Analysis: Breaking down old walls in the heart of Paris
![The climate change talks in Paris require looking at the world in a new way.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/3/b/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glitwk.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Tom Arup If you ride the RER train from the middle of Paris to the Le Bourget conference centre, where the climate talks are being held, along the way you will spy a little circus set up on the side of the tracks.
Exclusive
Japan whale hunt tensions to flare
![Sea Shepherd is hoping to confront Japanese whalers to disrupt their hunt.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/h/d/2/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glhag4.11u395.png/1449951781408.jpg)
Daniel Flitton, Andrew Darby Australia is considering dragging Japan back to the international court in an attempt to halt whaling.
Doctors disappointed with NSW government on air pollution standards
!["Disappointing": Doctors have expressed concern at air pollution standards in a new National Clean Air Agreement.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/o/0/h/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glo0gv.png/1450169761346.jpg)
Lucy Cormack 7:56 PM NSW will adopt air pollution standards that do not meet the levels recommended by the WHO.
Severe thunderstorm warning issued for parts of Sydney
![The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning just before 4pm on Tuesday.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/o/3/a/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glo39r.png/1450169606819.png)
Kate Aubusson 7:53 PM Parts of Sydney and the Wollondilly areas should brace for a severe thunderstorm on Tuesday evening.
The air you breathe is on the table
![Businessman standing next to brick wall wearing gas mask.man; men; young adult; portrait; 20s; 20-30 years; brunette; photograph; square; concept; humor; looking at viewer; outdoors; caucasian; mask; gas mask; environmental; breathing; air; clean air; eco; brick; wall; urban; business; businessman; pollution; asian; one person; people; white collar; professional; lifestyle; copy space; color; face; facial expression; serious; standing; prepared; industrial; 080710a0438; male
iSTOCK](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/n/d/m/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gln8i4.png/1450134232659.jpg)
Lucy Cormack 10:03 AM Standards for air pollution particles linked to lung cancer and restricted lung growth could be set at levels beyond those recommended by the World Health Organisation, doctors and community groups fear.
Canberra set to swelter through week of hot days and warm nights
![Chapman's Dylan Kirsten, 11, cools off in Lake Burley Griffin during the School Holiday Sailing School Tackers Program at the Canberra Yacht Club.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/n/2/b/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmwux.png/1450086801555.jpg)
Megan Gorrey 9:21 PM Canberrans have been encouraged to do what it takes to stay cool as temperatures hover several degrees above average this week.
Home solar battery revolution an economic and emissions game changer
![Dominic and Jane Osborne with their solar array.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/g/t/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmee1.png/1450135303983.jpg)
David Ellery 11:30 PM The emergence of affordable home batteries that can be hooked up to solar electricity systems will make coal fired power stations obsolete users have said.
'Why would you bother?': Turnbull government backbenchers warn against world's emissions plan
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/7/g/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmvql.png/1450156301884.jpg)
Nicole Hasham The world may have struck a much-heralded deal in Paris to ratchet up pollution cuts in the decades ahead, but a number of Turnbull government backbenchers insist climate science is unconvincing and Australia has already promised enough.
US town rejects solar farm after sunlight, cancer fears
![No more for Woodland: Solar panels in South Carolina.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/r/2/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmqa6.png/1450057806425.jpg)
Michael Koziol World leaders may have committed to ambitious climate targets in Paris at the weekend, but that in small-town America, all that solar hocus pocus is still viewed with a healthy dose of slack-jawed cynicism.
Fisherman lands 250-kilogram bull shark in Hastings Rivers
![Port Macquarie fisherman Denis Rivers hauled in this 250kg bull shark in the Hastings River with the help of friend Howie Griffin.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/n/t/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmnqf.png/1450053382703.jpg)
Tracey Fairhurst The two words uttered by fisherman Denis Rivers when he hauled in this massive beast will be left to your imagination but there is nothing fake about the bull shark in this story.
Heat turned up on Turnbull's climate policies
!["Tony always seemed so happy when flanked with giant Australian flags: why isn't it perking me up? Maybe I need a dozen or so more, that seemed to work for him."](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/7/g/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmbv1.png/1450135802077.jpg)
Nicole Hasham A watershed climate pact in Paris has stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to act at home to curb emissions and phase out fossil fuels, as the government warns it will not risk the economy to meet the new global commitment.
Canberra could have hottest December week in 13 years
![Dominic Gruzas,18 months, enjoys a dip at the western foreshore of Lake Ginninderra.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/b/3/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmbr3.png/1449998300265.jpg)
Clare Sibthorpe Canberrans should brace for what could be the region's hottest December week in 13 years.
COMMENT
A global deal made in China (and the US)
![A slogan, "FOR THE PLANET", is projected on the Eiffel Tower as part of the UN Climate Conference in Paris.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/5/r/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmfo3.png/1450037740354.jpg)
Daniel Flitton Without concord between Beijing and Washington, the world could not have struck a comprehensive deal to tackle global warming.
Climate deal's $23 trillion price tag
![An activist holds up a poster during a demonstration.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/8/h/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmgs5.png/1450034187392.jpg)
Alex Morales and Ewa Krukowska The agreement struck in Paris requires a huge investment in cleaning up the Earth's atmosphere.
Christmas bush fire risk still real despite recent rain
![NSW Rural Fire Service crews prepare for impact on homes in Coronation Pde as an out of control bushfire which continues to burn around the Wentworth Falls escarpment.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/b/x/s/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glmc1n.png/1449979719857.jpg)
Lucy Cormack Heavy rain in the first two weeks of November has left people in bushfire-prone areas complacent, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says.
World on cusp of historic climate deal
![French President Francois Hollande, left, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, applaud French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the climate conference.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/7/b/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glm4a3.png/1450127337847.jpg)
Tom Arup and Peter Hannam, Paris The world is on the cusp of a historic agreement to tackle climate change after the organisers of the Paris summit released the final wording of a deal, mapping out compromises on the key disputes that had divided countries.
Historic climate deal appears imminent
![Climate activists carry a red banner during a demonstration at the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. Hundreds of climate activists have stretched a block-long red banner through the Paris climate talks to symbolize "the red lines" that they don't want negotiators to cross in trying to reach an international accord to fight global warming. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/y/1/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllxiw.png/1449917049328.jpg)
Tom Arup and Peter Hannam in Paris An historic global deal to limit and tackle climate change appears imminent after a final draft agreement has been completed at the United Nations conference in Paris.
The zombies trying to avoiding a global warming apocalypse in Paris
![Former US Vice-President Al Gore, French Environment Minister Segolene Royal and Californian Governor Edmund Brown at the climate conference.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/1/0/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllxas.png/1449900621320.jpg)
Peter Hannam It's not quite zombie time but the strains are beginning to show as the Paris climate summit nears a climax.
Paris climate summit to miss Friday deadline
![French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius arrives to talk to the media. The French have released a draft text of a climate deal.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/x/b/d/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glky93.png/1450055953267.jpg)
Tom Arup and Peter Hannam Work on an historic climate deal that for the first time would require all countries to play a role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions will continue through the weekend after organisers conceded the summit would not meet its Friday night deadline.
ActewAGL partners with Panasonic in the solar power revolution
![Rachael Turner of Forde with her 5.2kW solar power system that has a battery storage system.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/d/n/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllauu.png/1449816867648.jpg)
David Ellery ActewAGL teams up with Panasonic for the next step in the solar power revolution.
Sydney temperatures hit 35 degrees
![A woman beats the heat on the first day of summer, when Sydney temperatures hit 38 degrees.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/c/f/m/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll3y7.png/1449814003550.jpg)
Michael Koziol Sydney will encounter another very hot Friday, with temperatures due to reach the mid-30s across the city.
A new space race: satellites could verify nations' emissions
![NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/4/6/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll3gm.png/1449813668555.jpg)
Barbara Lewis, Richard Valdmanis and David Stanway Improved satellite technology may allow greenhouse gas emissions to be monitored from space.
Emperor penguins can't stand the heat in the deep Antarctic winters
![Emperor penguins huddling at Auster Rookery, Australian Antarctic Territory.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/a/0/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll8ca.png/1449805791778.jpg)
Marcus Strom Male emperor penguins are often portrayed standing alone, stoically resisting the icy blasts to keep an egg warm while their mate hunts for food.
Here's the climate deal the world really wants
![Will the world's decision makers in Paris make the right call to control global warming?](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/3/b/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkxqf.png/1449797915085.jpg)
Tom Randall Elon Musk, the founder of electric car marker Tesla, and oil giant Exxon Mobil's boss Rex Tillerson have starkly different visions of the world. But on the best tool for fighting climate change, they agree.
Nations make final push for climate deal
![Delegates at the climate conference on the northern outskirts of Paris.](/web/20151215093444im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/w/z/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkx55.png/1449804549923.jpg)
Exhausted climate negotiators from 195 nations seeking ways to strengthen a planned agreement to combat global warming are arguing over who should pay billions of dollars to help developing nations meet those goals.